What kind of hood so I can boil in my basement?

[jdircksen]

Natural gas—not wood

I use natural gas to boil with a cooktop and 2 steam table pans. In the future I may build a stand with some burners and get a real syrup pan (2x3'). I also have a turkey fryer plumbed into my natural gas. Currently this is done outside, but I was thinking it would be convenient to move into my basement (unfinished, workshop space) where my RO and my sap storage is. Plus it would help heat the living space above.

How would I go about getting the steam outside? I have a basement window that I could run a vent pipe through, but it would require some elbows and the pipe would have to clear my ground floor roof. I guess I can get an inline duct fan, but do I need 4", 6", or 8"? And can I use galvanized or aluminum?

[barnbc76]

I dont think I've heard of anyone trying something this big in their basement.

[buckeye gold]

I don't think this is a good idea for many reasons. Have plenty of ventilation. One of my best friends died when he thought he could run his forge in his garage in the winter.

[bigschuss]

I don't think this is a good idea for many reasons. Have plenty of ventilation. One of my best friends died when he thought he could run his forge in his garage in the winter.

+1

I would just stick to the back porch.

[maple flats]

You would need to vent the carbon monoxide from the fire and the steam. Also get a carbon monoxide detector in the basement if you do choose to boil there. For the fire exhaust galvanized is fine, for the steam aluminum will be better, but if need be start the first few feet with aluminum before changing to galv, and have a T before it goes to galv, pointing downward slightly to drain off condensation from the galv portion so it can't drain back to the pan. That tee can be mostly plugged. A vent fan in the stack may also be needed.

[ecolbeck]

I would be very hesitant to pursue this idea.

First, one point of clarification: There is no carbon monoxide in steam coming off of an evaporator. However, there is the potential for carbon monoxide during any combustion process. Natural gas tends to burn very efficiently and produces little carbon monoxide, but why take the risk?

Is the turkey fryer rated for indoor use?

Moisture is terrible for houses. You will be producing steam from the pans AND from the natural gas flame (combustion produces carbon dioxide and water). Unless you have an amazing ducting system you're going to introduce tons of moisture into your house which is generally agreed to be a bad idea.

[heus]

BAD idea!!

[jdircksen]

I appreciate the comments and the cautions.
If I only use the natural gas cooktop in my basement, it's similar to having a gas stove in a finished basement kitchen. I imagine that is done in basement apartments and such. It's also what I did in my ground floor kitchen last year with the exhaust fan running on high. Seems like I would need to make sure I have a really good setup to vent the steam...maybe a high powered bathroom exhaust fan and a way to collect the steam from above the 24" deep x 30" wide cooktop. Or just install a standard range hood?
About the turkey fryer -- I built it using a natural gas burner from tejassmokers with a 12" diameter pot. I was going to use it as a preheater, so if I keep it under boiling temp maybe I won't have much steam.

It just seems like using my setup outside will be less efficient because I have to overcome the cold outside air. In my basement it's 60*F so it's a little closer to boiling temperature already.

[jmayerl]

Sometimes you just can’t keep people from making poor decisions, but heck, that’s what keeps us paramedics and firefighters in business!

[jdircksen]

Sometimes you just can’t keep people from making poor decisions, but heck, that’s what keeps us paramedics and firefighters in business!

No decisions have been made. I’m only trying to educate myself right now.

[Cjadamec]

If you are just using a regular residential cooking appliance in your home you should be ok on the using up all the oxeygen in the house and dying bit. Unless your basement is sealed up tight like a drum.

The thing that makes it a bad idea from the get go at this point is the shear volume of steam you are going to have to deal with. The volume of air you will need to pump out of your house to evacuate the steam is going to be staggering. You will litteraly need a window or door open to allow enough air into the house. I dont know about you but I pay to heat my house in the winter and I definitely don't want to leave a door or window open for hours.

Then if that cold air rushing into your house all day isnt that bad you are still going to end up putting lots of moisture into the air in your basement. That moisture will easily make your basement into a moldy mess.

Another issue is the sticky residue the steam from the syrup will leave on everything.

There are a lot of very good reasons people don't boil inside their homes and brave the outdoors in the winter to satisfy the maple itch.

[ecolbeck]

It just seems like using my setup outside will be less efficient because I have to overcome the cold outside air. In my basement it's 60*F so it's a little closer to boiling temperature already.

Unfortunately this idea won’t really make a difference. If you warm the sap up to room temperature outside, your turkey fryer does the work. If you let the sap warm up to room temperature inside, your heating system does the work. There’s no real advantage either way.

Also, while it is technically true that it takes less energy to heat an object in a warm environment compared to a cold one, the difference in this case is probably negligible.

[pdiamond]

Go out to youtube and watch some of the videos that show the backyarders boiling with steam trays. This will give you an idea of how much steam everyone is saying will be produced. When we first started we used a canopy and set up some 4 x 8 sheets are the evaporator. it kept the rain off, mostly

[TimJ]

If you do decide to do it (please don't - it is not a good idea), take videos and photos and post.

But, basically, don't do it.

Even with a hood and vent, etc, you will have a rain forest in your basement.

No one ever does this. At least not more than their first time.

[Galena]

I've nothing new to add, all the guys have already covered all the important bases. Just DON'T DO IT. K?

ETA: You might want to really check your homeowner's insurance policy very carefully to see if it covers self-inflicted flood damage. Not to mention rotting insulation, mold, etc. etc....

[Woody77]

It seems to me like everybody is freaking out about this idea because they just don't know any better. how is an enclosed room in a basement any different than an enclosed room in a Sugar House. First thing is to have a hood that will catch as much steam as possible obviously. And in a basement where moisture will be a bigger issue than in a sugar house you are going to want to have a fan to create suction and blow the steam out of the area. I would say you're going to want bigger than you think just to be safe. Now as far as keeping fresh air in the area that you are working in you will need a makeup air or a combustion air. What this is is a tube plumbed in from the outside that brings in fresh air. the idea is to get the tube plumped as close to the flame source as possible so that you are flame is consuming the oxygen it's drawing in from outside not from in the room itself. If you are going to be running a fan sucking steam out of the room this will also act as a place for it to replenish air into the room with this system in place you should have no issues whatsoever with starving to room for oxygen. I would definitely still run a carbon monoxide detector just to be on the safe side.

[DrTimPerkins]

If you do it in your basement you will need to have sufficient room air (boiling for hours is different than cooking for 15 minutes)...so an open window or bulkhead door. You will also need to vent the combustion gases properly (using a turkey fryer indoors is usually not a good idea). Not sure how your cooktop is configured or whether it even has a flue for combustion gases. If not, you'll want even more ventilation.

You would also need a hood and good way to vent the steam. A simple inline vent fan will very likely overheat and shut off after a relatively short time...and/or short out after a boil or two. You'd need something far more rugged that can take the high temperature, high moisture environment.

Yes....it could be done, however it would likely be far simpler in the long run to construct a small arch outside.

On the positive side...might make for a decent sweat lodge/steam room.

[jdircksen]

I'm thankful for everyone's safety concerns. I will keep thinking about it for next year. I have a lot of ideas floating around my head, that's what makes this hobby so fun.

This year's setup:

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